qr codes

Shazam, the same app that lets you identify catchy mystery songs playing just about anywhere will now be able to "identify" visual objects. We first got word of the then-rumored feature back in March. Unfortunately, this does not mean providing more information about that mystery fruit at the supermarket, or some strange bug in your backyard. Instead, Shazam will now let you scan Shazam logos (and QR codes) embedded on products like posters and magazines to get additional content--AKA advertisements.

The digital currency known as Bitcoin has taken part in a newscast in which a fellow by the name of Matt Miller is robbed wirelessly, on live television. Of course Miller didn’t know he was being robbed - and in fact since he was giving gift certificates with Bitcoin on them to his co-anchors it was more like they were getting robbed, but the end result is the same. Herein lies a lesson in understanding how QR-codes work.

QR codes have been a bit slower to catch on than some had anticipated, yet their victory over competing codes is solid, and again reaffirmed with an announcement by Microsoft today: its Tag service will be shut down on August 19, 2015. The deadline, which is exactly two years form now, will give users a chance to migrate to something more solid before the lights go off permanently.

Findables is offering cases for a variety of smartphones, among them being the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S 3, that feature custom QR codes on the back, as well as a fold-out bottom section that serves as a sort of stand. The QR codes can then be registered with a profile by the user, allowing others to scan it and access that profile, something particularly useful if the device is lost while out and about.

If you've spent any time using a smartphone, you've likely come across QR code stickers, letting you redeem a coupon or get some snippet of information. Mercedes-Benz plans to start putting such codes in its vehicles, but for a nobler reason: making it easier for first responders to access injured occupants and remove them with as little effort as possible.

If you haven't used your mobile phone to initiates some kind of financial transaction, then you better get on board because it is quickly becoming the fastest-growing segment in the consumer financial world. According to IDC Financial Insights, the number of consumers using their smartphones to complete online or offline transactions has doubled as of May 2012.

The newest entry to the wildly and rapidly growing mobile payment environment is a company called Paydiant. It doesn't expect you to rattle off its name when you're out talking with your friends about Square and PayPal (because we all do that all the time), but it does want you to realize there are other alternatives to traditional credit card payments, and it has its sights set on QR.

There's something pretty unique about one of Facebook's new office buildings in the company's Menlo Park, California campus. Something so unique, in fact, that it can be distinctly recognized from satellites in space. Apparently a group of employees thought it would be a cool idea to paint a giant 42-foot QR code on the roof of the building, though the team hasn't actually decided what to do with it.

Placing your next order at a restaurant may be as easy as scanning a code. That's the goal of PayDragon's self-named app that hopes to be a win-win for consumers and small businesses. It's yet another entry in a growing list of mobile applications that process payment transactions for brick-and-mortar locations in the real world. The niche here is the inclusion of QR codes.

We all know by now that condoms prevent all sorts of unwanted diseases and pregnancies. A new program is making the rounds that uses specially marked condoms to allow users to check in and post a location when they're having safe "relations" using a QR code on the package. The program posts locations to Wheredidyouwearit.com and apparently is sponsored by Planned Parenthood.